Meet Induben Rajput who built successful Vada Pav biz after serious accident, debts

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Induben, from Gujarat, owns and operates Chilli and Cheese, a home-cooked food business that serves delectable vada pav.

The adventure began when she was involved in a catastrophic accident that profoundly altered her life.

Induben Rajput of Mehsana, Gujarat, was involved in a bike accident in 2017 that left her spine gravely wounded, with many cracks and compressed nerves. She was recommended to spend the entire day in bed in order to avoid a permanent back problem.

This put the mother of three in a difficult situation. Her stitching business was just getting started, and her hard-earned money was going towards her pricey medical treatment. Her husband, a government clerk at the time, took out many loans to pay for her post-surgery treatment and their children’s education.

Induben, 44, said, “Our lives were devastated after that occurrence. I felt helpless because I had lost my money. My husband worked longer hours since I stayed in bed all day. I’d need someone’s assistance just to get out of the house. On certain days, I would just lose my equilibrium after a few steps. My girls were in private school, we had five mouths to feed, and we couldn’t make ends meet on my husband’s salary alone. There was no light – just a long, dark tunnel.”

However, she claims that her girls and husband did not give up hope. It was because of them that she was able to launch Chilli and Cheese, her homemade food enterprise that has provided financial security to the family.

She also starred on the reality TV show The Big Picture, hosted by actor Ranveer Singh, in February of this year.

Induben may be a master in a variety of recipes, but when her daughters initially proposed she sell home-cooked meals, she was filled with self-doubt. She realised she had to have a distinctive component to generate money in a state packed with all kinds of food establishments — big and little — and where people enjoy their food with intense devotion.

She did the next best thing because she didn’t have enough money to buy ovens or microwaves, so she went to her mother’s recipes.

Induben says, “There are advantages to being born and raised in Kolhapur. As a Gujarati, I’m sure I ate vada pav more than dhoklas as a kid. My mother would cook them at home and use her own masalas instead of what was commonly used.”

In 2019, the family rented a modest location for Rs 16,000 and established Chilli and Cheese, a food restaurant. They began by offering vada pav and eventually expanded to include sandwiches, pizzas, and burgers. To appeal to the younger age, Induben introduced mint and schezwan vada pav.

The several forms of vada pav available here range in price from Rs 30 to Rs 79. The restaurant opens at 11 a.m., but Induben begins working around 9 a.m. She goes to the market to buy fresh veggies and begins her day by boiling potatoes and cooking chutneys.

According to Induben, the company has begun to expand, and they now receive 30-40 orders each day on average. She mentions that they made Rs 1.25 lakh in revenue last month, the majority of which was reinvested. All that was left was Rs 8,000, which she carried home with her.

Induben says, “When we first launched the restaurant, our revenue was Rs 40,000. However, curfews were soon implemented as a result of COVID-19, and our business came to a halt. We didn’t have a single consumer for weeks. So getting home Rs 8,000 is a breakthrough for me,” she says, her eyes welling up with tears.”

While the original promotion was done through word of mouth and social media networks, things improved after she featured on The Big Picture.

“The show transformed our destiny.” I was scared we’d have to close because none of us are marketing professionals. Ranveer’s encouragement on the show was quite helpful. According to her, the best-selling item at the restaurant is the ‘Spicy Simba Vada Pav,’ which Ranveer Singh named himself.

“I read about the restaurant on the internet and came here to experience the Ranveer special,” says Rajkumar Patel, a regular at Chilli and Cheese. The flavour is distinct and the quality has been nicely preserved.

Induben hopes to expand her services and begin offering delivery alternatives in the future. She is currently running the business with the assistance of her husband and daughters.

Sheetal Shaparia was bestowed with the Woman Iconza award for Excellence in Transformational Success Coaching

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Meet Sheetal Shaparia, The Astrologer Guiding People To Achieve Success Using various methods. She is an intuitive person who is an expert in various modalities such as I-Ching, Runes, Coffee Cup Reading, Tea Cup Reading, Wine/Beer Glass Reading, Numerology, Dream Interpretation, Tarot Card Reading, Crystal Reading, Vastu Shastra, Tarot card reader, Color Reading & Therapy, Candle Therapy, Drawing Analysis and Feng Shui.

Sheetal Shaparia Is Changing Lives & Healing People making lives better for them as she is also an inner wellness counselor.

Every person in this world is unique and possesses some kind of qualities, for example few are good in technology skills, some have a photographic memory, several others are pretty good singers even without proper training and so on but there are very few who are blessed with divine powers which they use for the welfare of others.

Sheetal Shaparia, the Mumbai-based emotional wellness coach and astrologer, is one such person who has had special powers since childhood. Born into a famous business family from south Mumbai, she used to see dreams of being a true disciple of Lord Shiva living in New Delhi. As the time passed, the details of her dreams became clearer and she also started foreseeing visuals of the incidents which didn’t even take place and sometimes these visuals used to be so clear that she even knew the date and time at which the incident would take place.

Such experiences were quite difficult for a young girl to handle so she used to be restless and wasn’t able to sleep properly. Her parents also tried their best to ensure that their daughter at least got peaceful sleep at nights but nothing helped until she met a learned Jain saint on her 13th birthday. The saint asked Sheetal Shaparia to practice meditation for channeling her energies on a regular basis and use the gift of her powers for the benefit of others. With time, Sheetal’s interest in Occult sciences kept on increasing and she studied in the best universities of the world for gaining knowledge and to discover the psychic self.

Sheetal has been working as an emotional wellness coach and astrologer since 1998 and in her career of more than two decades, she has helped out many people across 20 plus countries and on an international level, she being a public figure has influenced many lives of people including celebrities and VVIPs in achieving their desired goals and in living a happy and hassle-free life.

Sheetal’s acumen and wisdom also enables her to create business plans for her clients and her healing power has helped many who suffered a lot because of the difficulties they faced in life.

Sheetal Shaparia is one of the very few Indians who have a vast knowledge ranging from I-Ching Chinese astrology, wine reading and Egyptian reading, as well as other methodologies, which are some of the ancient ways of construing the near future. In I-Ching reading, the yarrow sticks and coins are used for making a series of six lines called hexagram which gets broken into three lines called trigram. The readings in I-Ching are influenced by the leanings of active masculine force called Yin and passive female force called Yang and the predictions regarding the future are made after doing calculations depending on the numbers carved on either ends of the yarrow sticks.

Sheetal Shaparia completed the Raymond Lo I-Ching Divination Course in USA in order to gain knowledge and become an expert in this form of therapy.

She is also an expert of Runes, an ancient form of Oracle used by the Germanic and Nordic tribes but it is still very much prevalent in today’s times for the purpose of gaining insight into an issue or matter which is troubling the concerned person. Runes is not considered as fortune-telling as it only indicates towards the possible answers to the questions and Sheetal’s intuition enables her to work out the details for helping her client.

Sheetal Shaparia has written many articles for some very famous and highly esteemed publications such as Cosmopolitan, Times of India, Grazia, Femina, Mumbai Mirror, Pune Mirror, Indian Express, The Pioneer, etc. and her videos related to astrology were also posted on India.com. Sheetal’s videos on astrological episodes can also be viewed on the DTH service provider Tata Sky. Sheetal Shaparia has also been honored with various awards and recognitions such as NDTV award, ET award etc.

Over the years, Sheetal Shaparia has become the leading astrologer of the country who has a global client base so if you are facing any problem or finding it difficult to handle the tough situations of life, don’t delay in making an appointment with her as she can help you get rid of your problems and achieve success in life.

For all her exemplary work, Sheetal Shaparia was bestowed with Women Iconza Award 2022 for Excellence in Transformational Success Coaching in a glittering event that took place on 3rd march atMG Motor India, Mumbai.Times Applaud, in cooperation with Namaste Bahrain, hosted the award presentation. The major event of India’s leading digital news platform is held every year to demonstrate the company’s dedication to women’s empowerment and upliftment.

Times Applaud Recognizes Efforts of Emblematic Females with Its Annual Women Iconza Award

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The Annual Women Iconza Award is one of the signature events of Times Applaud that the prestigious digital news portal organises to celebrate the brilliance and efficiency of women who lead, inspire, and motivate greatness in multiple fields. This years’ award ceremony was held by Times Applaud in collaboration with Namaste Bahrain on 3rd March 2022 at MG Motor India, Mumbai. The Glittering ceremony was attended by many eminent personalities from all walks of life- social, political, corporates and entertainment. To add to the spectacle, the event also marked the unveiling of the well-known Namaste Bahrain magazine by Farheen Ahmed, the founder of Pink Media House. The other prominent guest of honours was well-known social worker & people leader Ms Ruta Jitendra Awhad & distinguished actress of the TV industry Ms Pooja Gor.

The event was driven by MG Mumbai and NGO partner Suprayas Foundation, along with the gifting partner DARALTEEB. The supporting partner was the Delphic Council of Maharashtra, and the Media & Celebs partner was Shakehands Celebrity Management & PR by Baaabush Sharma.

This year, the ceremony was specially curated on the theme to honour the “Women who breaks The Bias.” The Women Iconza Awards, now in its 2nd year, celebrate the achievements of the region’s business influential women professionals, trailblazers, and rising stars that have made outstanding contributions and taken extraordinary strides in their work industries.

The celebration was also witnessed a fantastic and crucial panel discussion on #breakthebias. The panel was graced by none other than Ms Nidhi Modidealer-Principal MG Mumbai, Ms Maria SamuelDirector Gulmarg SKI Academy, Ms Jutikaa Mahantaa, founder Bollywood Couch, and Mrs Radhika Mundra-Founder & Owner Payjama party.

Applauding the 26 awardees from diverse fields encompassing Corporates, Real Estate, Health Care, Education, Start-Ups, Designs, Entertainment, Fashion, Hospitality, Social work, the Service Industry, and much more, the Women Iconza 2022 Awards remains at the forefront of recognising the female achievers for their flawless insights. Here is the list of all winners:

Mohini Milind Gandhi was awarded for being an Icon in Jewellery Designing and making. Ms Sonia Shah for being an Iconic Tarot Card Reader. Mrs Asmi Amol Pangam, Chairman Diivyamtej Buildcon Pvt Ltd, was awarded for showing excellence in the real estate sector. Mrs Mamta Gautam was adjudged as the most iconic women entrepreneur in healthcare and education. Juhi Parmar, the Young Digital Marketer & founder of Cosmifie LLP, for her excellence in the field of Digitalization.

Sheetal Shaparia was awarded for her Remarkable role as a Transformational success coach. In contrast, Rashi Roop Laxmi, a certified life coach, consultant and motivational speaker, was bestowed with the Iconic Tarot Reader & Author. Ritu Rajneesh Thapar was bestowed with the Iconic Professional Singer award. Mrs Rehnuma S Khan is a leading makeup artist for being an Iconic Makeup Artist & Entrepreneur. The awards for settings trends in entertainment and television went to Vahbiz Dorabjee & Alefia Kapadia, Indian television and film actresses who were conferred with Iconic Actress & Fashion Blogger award Iconic Life Coach, respectively. Another actress Sara Arfeen Khan was given the Iconic Lifestyle Influencer award. The award for best Film Producer & Social Activist went to Mrs Farah Sultan Ahmed, a famous Indian Director and Producer.

In the medical sector, Dr Ashwini Jogade Pandhare, a well-known Paediatrician, was given the Exemplary Women Achievers Award, whereas Dr Mitusha Verma Sanghavi was conferred as the Youth Icon in Healthcare. Well-known Celebrity Physiotherapist Dr Masooma Ladiwala was awarded the Iconic Physiotherapist in Mumbai award and Dr Dimple Bhosale for her excellent services in Gynaecology & as a Skin Expert.

Tarla Lall-(Aasha Nu Zarnu) was also felicitated for her relentless work on Women’s Empowerment through Education. Mrs Pratibha Kanoi was called out as the most Inspirational Women Entrepreneur. Reshma Shaikh was awarded for showcasing excellence in the Direct Selling category. Mrs Rekha Gupta & Ms Divya Gupta’s name was announced as the winner in the Emerging Fashion Brand of the Year category. Mrs Johnse Arunkumar was awarded for showing excellence in Housekeeping and Security services. Dr Nutan Pakhare was felicitated in education with the Iconic Author & Founder of AYG Academy. A prominent Lawyer, Social Activist, Speaker, Educator, Adv Bindu Dubey was awarded for establishing and running an Iconic Law Firm.

The guest of honours, Hruta Jitendra Awhad, a renowned social worker and Indian actress Pooja Gor, were also honoured. The former with Iconic Social Worker & People’s Leader award whereas the latter for the Iconic Face in the T.V Industry.

Times Applaud never misses an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment towards the upliftment and revolutionising women’s empowerment. The organization always feels proud to tribute such noticeable women who act as an example of hard work and willpower. The awards are conducted impressively, and the domain aims to showcase the work of these achievers so that it acts as a gateway of inspiration for upcoming generations. The honouring moments will motivate more women to achieve something for themselves, society, and the nation.

Mr. Sarit Agarwal receives Trendsetter Award 2022 from Honourable Governor of Maharashtra Mr Bhagat Singh Koshyari 

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Pandemic has given education industry a great momentum. One of the most illustrious coaching institutes which has carved its own niche and remarkable achievements is Pace IIT & Medical. In a recent award ceremony by Times Applaud, Mr Sarit Agarwal – Regional Head of Pace IIT & Medical was invited as a dignitary and moreover felicitated by The Honourable Governor of Maharashtra Shri. Bhagat Singh Koshyari and also present at the event Playback Singer Kumar Shanu. Mr Sarit Agarwal was felicitated for remarkable contribution in Innovation in Quality & Affordable Education.

When you search online for BEST JEE Coaching near me or BEST NEET Coaching near me, the first and the most competitive option that ends up on top page is PACE IIT & MEDICALMr Sarit Agarwal and his team of experienced faculty for JEE & NEET always look forward to bringing in innovative methods in teaching. PACE IIT & MEDICAL KALYANPACE IIT & MEDICAL THANEPACE IIT & MEDICAL PALAVA which is managed by Mr Sarit Agarwal, an institute for IIT JEE, NEET, AIIMS, International Olympiads and Study Abroad programs has been producing outstanding results since its inception.

The core pillars of their foundation are student – centric customised approach. The program is engaging and tailor made to suit the requirements of the students and has feedback- driven mechanism. Their team comprises of highly qualified renowned professors, IITians and doctorates. At Pace IIT & Medical, their vision is to become the best brand in the education industry for Engineering, Medical & Study Abroad aspirants and turn their dreams into reality by providing the highest quality of education.

Mr. Sarit Agarwal (Regional Head, Pace IIT & Medical) is a visionary and charismatic leader with over two decades of experience. Passionate about providing access to quality education, he strives towards creating innovative solutions which drastically improves teaching and learning. He strongly advocates Hybrid Model of Teaching and Learning. It is a blend of online and offline learning methods. Its effective amalgamation of traditional classroom methods, experimental learning objectives and digital learning to foster holistic development of students makes it a popular phenomenon. The classes are strategically structured to ensure an understanding of the fundamental concepts. Hybrid Teaching Model offers the best of both worlds – It takes learning pace into consideration, optimises time and blends it beautifully with personal element of live environment with human perspective. Counselling, doubts lectures, mentoring, motivational talks are organised frequently.

The recent felicitation by The Honourable Governor of Maharashtra to Mr. Sarit Agarwal, proves that PACE IIT & MEDICAL has been delivering excellent and quality results pan India. 

Meet Varun Sarda who built Rs 20 cr travel company from Rs 6 lakh

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With Rs 6 lakh, Varun Sarda established Wtfares as an airline ticket booking portal in 2014.  The company has since then clocked a Rs 20 crore turnover.

Varun Sarda, the founder of wtfares, a Nagpur-based online travel company, has an unique narrative to his Rs 20 crore-turnover company, which he launched with a Rs 6 lakh investment eight years ago.

In 2013, he used a renowned travel portal to book flights from Nagpur to Delhi for himself and his father, as well as a hotel in Delhi for their stay.

However, when he arrived in Delhi, he was horrified to learn that the hotel was no longer in operation, having closed down six months prior.

” “Back in Nagpur, he recounted his traumatic experience on social media, and the positive feedback he received inspired him to start his new business.

He worked as an independent travel agent booking aeroplane tickets for six months to acquire a feel for the industry and gather experience before taking the plunge.

Varun borrowed Rs 6 lakh from his mother, grandparents, and two friends in 2014 to develop wtfares, which began as a flight ticket buying portal.

His two friends joined him in the venture as well.

. Varun’s father owns and operates a paper making and printing company. Varun was able to rent a 600 sq ft office within a year, and his team increased to seven. Year after year, the company’s profits increased. In 2014, their revenue surpassed Rs. 1.5 crore.

Varun claims that in 2016, he performed something unique that no other travel company had done.  Varun claims that in 2016, he created something innovative that even the largest travel businesses had not done before, which enhanced their company. Wtfares provided free cancellation on all domestic airline tickets up to Rs 20,000 for a Rs 3,000 premium.

Varun explains, “It was a big smash, and it catapulted the company to the next level in the industry. When we introduced this scheme, we were making Rs 3 crore, but by 2017, we were making Rs 12 crore.”

The novelty faded off as other companies in the field made similar offers, but Wtfares had found its footing at this point and continued to grow. The company began to sell vacation packages, focusing on exotic locations such as the Seychelles.

From its humble beginnings as an airline ticket booking company, Wtsfares has come a long way. People may now easily book a comprehensive vacation package on wtfares based on their budget.

“Wtfares offers vacation packages to a variety of overseas countries, including Seychelles, Taiwan, Jordan, and Turkey.”

For example, a three-day, two-night holiday package in Srinagar for a couple departing from Chennai costs Rs 41,919, which includes flight tickets, hotel accommodations, and local tours.

During the Covid lockout, their business suffered. But it has now recovered.

“We plan to make Rs 50 crore in revenue in FY 2021-22,” Varun says.

The company presently processes over 3000 transactions every month, including aircraft tickets, hotel reservations, and vacation bookings.

Gaurav Kamath built edtech startup MicroDegree to impart IT skills in local languages

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Gaurav Kamath and his partner MicroDegree intends to teach coding in vernacular languages to students from Tier II, III, and beyond.

The edtech startup was named one of the top 100 startups in Karnataka’s flagship Elevate programme.

Gaurav Kamath and his partners founded MicroDegree an edtech startup that intends to teach coding in vernacular languages to students from Tier II, III, and beyond. The startup was named one of the top 100 startups in Karnataka’s flagship Elevate programme. Several lakh engineers live in India, but their inability to communicate in English has hampered their technical careers.

With its online programmes, Mangaluru-based MicroDegree seeks to help students from Tier II, III, and beyond cities learn coding in vernacular languages and job-ready skills.

Gaurav Kamath, Rakesh Kothari, and Manikanta Nair founded the edtech firm in 2020 with the goal of making emerging technology affordable for students of all educational levels and languages.

Co-founder and CEO, Gaurav, says, “At the moment, we teach IT skills like cloud computing, Python, and other job-ready skills in Kannada,”

The programmes last around two months, with lessons held on weekdays or weekends in morning/evening batches. Enrollees also get access to recordings of live courses, which is useful if they miss a class.” MicroDegree’s trainers are certified industry leaders in their respective technology fields. The startup’s methodology emphasises hands-on instruction with real-time relatable, intuitive, and simple examples.

MicroDegree hopes to expand into Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Bengali by the end of the fiscal year.

Gaurav elaborates, “Our unique selling point is vernacular delivery inside a local context. People are perplexed when we claim we teach in Kannada – how can we teach technology in a local language? While the ideas are simple to convey in Kannada, all additional technical jargon are in English. It’s more of a 60-40% blend of the languages.”

The creators of MicroDegree met through CEOL — Incubation Centre Mangaluru, which was financed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s MPLADs money.”

Gaurav say, with the current rise in demand, MicroDegree will start the process to raise the next round soon. For its course, the startup charges a one-time fee. It also intends to create a subscription service.

“In terms of revenue, MicroDegree is experience a 50% monthly rate growth,” he says. With a turnover of Rs 1 crore in FY21, the firm expects to generate Rs 15 crore in FY22 as it expands into five new vernacular markets.

According to an Omidyar and Redseer research, the Indian post-K12 edtech sector is estimated to exceed $1.75 billion by 2022.

MicroDegree began with a Rs 100 investment. The startup acquired more than 50 paid users who were eager to learn full-stack coding.

Its Android app has over 3,000 downloads, and the business plans to launch a new app next month to help it grow even more. MicroDegre is looking to help create five lakh jobs, in the next three years. It competes with Edureka, IntelliPaat, and unorganised local training institutes in India, and Simplilearn, Coursera, Udemy and others, on a global scale.

Audio OTT startup Pocket FM raises $65 million in Series C funding round led by  Goodwater Capital, others

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Pocket FM has secured $65 million in a Series C round of funding. The audio-streaming startup is looking to expand into additional languages, grow its network of audio content creators, and assist them in monetizing their work on the platform.

Pocket FM has raised $65 million in Series C fundraising headed by Goodwater Capital, South Korean internet behemoth Naver, and current investor Tanglin Venture Partners.

This round of funding comes roughly three months after the company received $22.4 million in Series B capital in December of last year.

To date, the business has received $93.6 million in funding from investors including Lightspeed, Tencent, Times Group, and Tanglin Venture Partners.

The money raised will be used by the Gurugram-based firm to develop its product, extend to additional languages, invest in artificial intelligence capabilities, scale its community of audio content makers, and assist them in monetising on the platform.

CEO of Pocket FM, Rohan Nayak, stated, “This demonstrates Pocket FM’s market leadership and confidence in the company’s execution ability. Over the last year, audio consumption has increased exponentially, and we are on a goal to establish the largest audio OTT platform.”

Pocket FM, which was founded in 2018 by Nayak, Nishanth Srinivas, and Prateek Dixit, claims to provide more than 100,000 hours of long-format audio material in English and seven Indian languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Marathi.

Pocket FM says it has over 50,000 professional user-generated content (PUGC) authors and voice artists in its creative community.

You can buy the service for Rs 399 a year as an annual subscription. It also has a free ad-supported version with a restricted selection of content.

The company stated in December that users spend more than 110 minutes each day on the app.

Nishanth KS, cofounder of Pocket FM, stated, “Aside from audio entertainment, we witnessed a 12x increase in consumption of self-help books and audio courses. Users are seeking for high-quality knowledge stuff to help them improve their skills. With this funding, we hope to expand our creator community even further and reach 5 million paying customers in the next 12 months.”

Scott Shiao, Director of Investment at Goodwater Capital said, “Pocket FM helps audio producers around the world in generating the best long-form audio content, from writing to voice acting, while also offering a route for consumers to search and discover that material. We look forward to assisting Pocket FM in expanding its platform.”

Accel to support Indian startups with new $650M fund

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Accel has announced a new fund to back Indian startups. The storied venture investor is looking to double down on its bet on the world’s second-largest internet market.

Accel has announced the launch of its seventh India fund, with a $650 million investment target, as it seeks to double down on its bet on the world’s second-largest internet market while simultaneously becoming more active in Southeast Asia.

The new fund’s announcement comes less than two and a half years after Accel’s sixth fund, which debuted in late 2019.

The first round of checks for the new venture are scheduled to be wired within a few weeks.

The Silicon Valley venture capital firm was among the first to invest in India. In the South Asian country, the corporation has a sizable portfolio of unicorn businesses.

Some of its notable investments include backing Flipkart, which sold a majority stake to Walmart in 2018; top food delivery startup Swiggy; and Freshworks, which went public last year.

Accel is the first institutional investor in the vast majority of its investments.

Shekhar Kirani, an Accel partner, credited the recent decade’s success of Indian startup to the advent of railroads such as the payments infrastructure UPI and the tax system GST.

He predicted that the Indian economy would outperform the previous decade’s growth within a few years.

According to Barath Subramanian, another Accel partner, the firm intends to be more competitive in some industries, such as web3 and business-to-business markets.

The firm began investing in Southeast Asia a few years ago. It is also looking to be more aggressive in the region with the new fund.

Subramanian said, “We have to work with a new business for the next 10 years.”

Jaipur’s unique kitchen Bejubano Ki Rasoi feeds thousands of stray dogs nutritious meals at Rs 5 only

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A unique kitchen in Jaipur, Bejubano Ki Rasoi, is feeding freshly cooked meals to countless stray dogs at just Rs 5. Jaipur-based Gajraj Singh Kachhawa leads the initiative.

Gajraj Singh Kachhawa, a Jaipur local, sat at a tea vendor on a cold winter morning, sipping hot sweet tea. As he was about to depart, a man approached the vendor, bought a packet of biscuits, and fed a street dog.

Gajraj stood by and observed this. He approached the man and inquired as to why he was feeding the dog biscuits high in sugar and wheat, both of which are harmful to canines. Gajraj even advised the man to give the dog milk or, better yet, curd. “The only thing I’ll get for Rs 5 is this packet of biscuits,” the man said as he walked away.

This idea stayed with Gajraj, who went on to start Bejubano Ki Rasoi (Kitchen For The Voiceless), where a pre-packaged nutritious meal for a dog costs only Rs 5.

“I’ve been feeding dogs on my own for almost five years now,” Gajraj explains.

When the lockdown was implemented, there were a large number of people who were delivering food for others. The street dogs, on the other hand, suffered the most. No one wanted to feed or even care for them. That’s when I decided to make a deliberate effort to feed the dogs.”

Gajraj explains, “With the lockdown, none of these smaller establishments were operational, which meant no food for the dogs. During this time, I was frequently feeding over 600 dogs.”

The 27-year-old entrepreneur and digital marketer owns a club in Jaipur where Bejubano Ki Rasoi operates. Because the club is only open in the evenings, Gajraj could use the kitchen during the day to produce these healthy dishes and he didn’t even have to make any further investments.

Once the meals are made and packaged, they are sold at a booth near Jaipur’s Vivek Vihar metro station.

Each 400 gm precooked meal contains paneer, soybean, rice, and eggs, as well as multivitamin pills for dogs. While there are packaged foods available for dogs, Gajraj claims that the majority of them dehydrate the dogs. Gajraj now has many regular clientele who use his food to feed their dogs.

“Most of them tell us how much their pets seemed to like this freshly cooked meal of Bejubano Ki Rasoi” he says.

Gajraj did not want to charge for the food when he launched this effort. However, he claims that his buddies persuaded him to charge a minimal fee. “My friends told me to charge for the food if I want others to value it. The biscuit incident prompted me to charge Rs 5.”

Gajraj estimates that each meal package costs around Rs 15 to prepare.

The price varies according to the cost of vegetables. “But, I will charge only Rs. 5 for the food from Bejubano Ki Rasoi.” The food packs were supplied for free throughout the lockdown. The goal was to feed as many dogs as possible.”

According to Gajraj, the objective for Bejubano Ki Rasoi is to build five more kiosks across Jaipur in order to feed a minimum of 3,000 canines each day. “While the dogs typically eat whatever they are given,” says Priyanka Sharma, a Jaipur resident who has been feeding stray dogs for a while, “I witnessed the difference when I fed them one of the packets I got from Bejubano Ki Rasoi. It was wiped clean within seconds of being placed in front of them.”

Priyanka has purchased more than 60 packets from Gajraj and says she cannot suggest it highly enough to anyone who stops to feed dogs on the street.

So, the next time you reach for a sugary biscuit or a dog treat, pause and reflect. A balanced supper rich in proteins and carbohydrates may help keep the dog healthy.

Maiden fundraise to help edutech startup Physics Wallah become unicorn

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Physics Wallah (PW) is in talks to raise funds with Westbridge and GSV Ventures. The funding is expected to help the startup become a unicorn.

According to two persons familiar with the facts of the proposed transaction, Physics Wallah is in late-stage talks to seek capital with Westbridge and GSV Ventures.

PW provides JEE, NEET, and other engineering entrance exam classes and study materials both online and offline.

While the platform and its app have gained a lot of attention in the last two years, it has suddenly turned out to be a hot option for investors.

“The conversations with Westbridge and GSV Ventures have been going on for a few of months, and the two investors, along with a few others, are expected to put in $100 million in Physics Wallah,” said one of the persons who asked to remain anonymous since the talks are confidential.

PW (Physics Wallah), founded in 2016 by Alakh Pandey and later joined by Prateek Maheshwari, has been a pure-play bootstrapped firm until now.

According to Sensor Tower data, the Delhi-based startup has over 6.4 million followers on YouTube and 4.2 million downloads on its app.

For JEE, NEET, and board exams, the site provides live classrooms, video lectures, test series, and interactive exercises (12th).

PW’s (Physics Wallah) price point sets it apart from the competition, as the company charges only Rs 3,500 for the full JEE and NEET tests.

Aside from YouTube and applications, it also operates 20 offline facilities in 16 cities.

“Physics Wallah will be valued anywhere near $1 billion, and the deal is [anticipated] to be revealed in a few weeks,” added the second insider, who also requested anonymity.

“PW’s aim is value creation and wishes to construct not just an organisation but a “piece-of-art” that remains a life-long learning partner for the students,” PW (Physics Wallah) stated in a statement.

Westbridge and GSV elicited no quick reaction.

The pandemic has compelled offline educational institutions to embrace technology in a large way.

Lupa Systems’ involvement in Kota-based Allen Institutes may also indicate this.

Lupa, chaired by James Murdoch, is in late-stage talks to acquire a 30-35 percent share in Allen for over $400 million.

Allen is likely to be worth around $1.2 billion in the deal.